Improved fire-arm



UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOSEPH ADAMS, OF CLEVELAND, OHIO.

IIVIPROVED lFIRE-ARM.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 15,797, dated September 30, 1856.

To altwhom it may concern:

Beitknown thatI, JOSEPH ADAMS, of Cleveland, in the county of Cuyahoga and State of Ohio, have invented a new and Improved Revolving-Barrel Fire-Arm; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full and exact description thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, making a part of this specification.

Figure l is a side View of a three-bore rifle constructed in my improved manner, the stock being removed to enable the construction of the lock and breech to be seen; Fig. 2, a side view of the breech of the barrel detached Fig. 3, a vertical central section of the breech of the barrel, together with theremovable breech-pin, thenut which secures the same to the barrel, and the collar by which the barrel is secured within the socket; Fig. 4, a view of the rear end of the barrel, the breech-piece being removed 5 Fig. 5, a side view ofthe breech-piece; Fig. 6, an end View thereof 5 Fig.7 a side view of the nut by which the breech-piece is secured in thebreech of the barrel; Fig. 8, a view of the collar by which the barrel is secured in the socket 5 Fig.,9, a side view of the lock detached 5 Fig. 10, aview of the trigger or catch by which the breech is allowed to revolve and is held in the proper positions; Fig. 11, end view of the muzzle of the triple-bore barrel; Fig. 12, end view of the muzzle, showing a modification in which four bores may be arranged in the barrel on thesame principle.

Like letters designate corresponding parts in all the figures.

' The nature of my invention consists in the arrangement of a single revolving barrel with three or four bores in such a manner as to seeurethe utmost economy of space and weight and at the same time to retain the usual strength, while the outermost points of the several .bores are rendered concentric with the center around which the barrel turns; secondly, in the employment of a removable compound breech-piece having branches which fit respectively into countersinks at the rear ends of the bores, and in the application of a rightand -left nut fitting corresponding screwthreads, respectively, onlthe barrel and breechpiece, whereby kthe breech-piece is drawn andl Vretained in the barrel, said nut ser-ving also tov hold the revolving collar by which the barrel is secured in the socket, and thus united to the stock thirdly, in the pecular arrangement of a hammer, trigger, and mainspring supplying the place of an ordinary gun-lock, to suit the peculiar construction of the gun, substantially `as herein set forth.

that on which the barrel turns in revolving, as

illustrated in Fig. 11, where the outermost tangents of the three barrels A A A are shown to be coincident with the dotted circle x, concentric with the center a of the barrels revolution.

The modification shown in Fig. 12 shows the arrangement of four bores in the barrel onthe 'same principle and fullling the same conditions. In this case two opposite bores, A A, are

of large caliber-say of suitable size for shotwhile the intermediate opposite bores, A A', are ot' smaller caliber-say of suitable size for the ordinary rifle-ball. By this arrangement only of two larger and two smaller bores can the outermost tangents thereofbe arranged in the same circle x, concentricwith the center a, around which `the barrel turns, and at the same time permit the greatest economy in theV Whether three size and weight of the barrel. or four barrels are employed the thickness of metal, both outside and between the several bores, is nearly uniform, and the outer surface is consequently fluted, as represented 5 or the outer periphery of the barrel may be' only It-will be? rounded or slightly corrugated. seen that the bores are in this Way brought as close as possible to each other in the center of l the barrel, so that the desired compactness and lightness are attained without in theleast diminishing the strength of the barrel. A'barf rel with three or four bores thus constructed has the weight only of an ordinary American sporting-ride.

The breech end of the barrel is enlarged and e rounded into a cylinder,orfortiiication,a,and 1 terminates in a neck or smaller portion, b, for thereception of acollar,E. (Shown separately in Fig. 8.) On the rear end of this neck is cut a screw-thread to receive a nut, D. One half of this nut is cut with a female screw to fit said screw-thread on the collar, and the other half is cut with a screw coiling the other way to fit a screw-thread corresponding therewith on the breechpin C. Thus, since one is a left-hand and the other a right-hand screw,by turning the nut in one direction the breech-pin is forced into the barrel and by turning itin theother direction the breech-piece is drawn out ofthe barrel. By thus drawing the breech-piece straight into or out of the barrel I am enabled to make a single piece form the complete breech-piece for all the bores,providin g it with branches d d d, which t respectively into countersinks at the rear of and somewhat larger than the bores, as shown in Figs. 3 and 4. Much greater strength is thereby secured to the breech, since the nearness of the bores to each other prevents theuse of strongfastenin gs for separate breechpins. It also enables me to have a pivot, g, at the extremity of the breech on which the barrel may turn. The nipples fffareA inserted in recesses formed in the breech-pin, substantially as shown in Figs. 2 and 5, and suitable vents, e, lead therefrom to the respective bores.

The nut D and the portion of the breech-pin behind it are ot' equal diameter, and compose a cylinder which fills, or nearly fills, the socket B,in which the barrel turns. If the pivot g fits its bearing closely, the breech-pin and nut need not touch the socket. Otherwise they should fit closely therein, thus serving as the gudgeon for the barrel to turn upon. The collar E is held upon the neck ot' the barrel by said nut, as shown in Fig. 3. It has a screwthread cut upon its smaller' portion, which is a little larger in diameter than the nut and breech-piece, so that the socketB can pass over them and allow a female screw cut in the mouth of said socket to screw upon the collar. This secures the barrel in the socket and allows it to turn freely therein. The bead or large portion of the collar projects outward even with or slightly beyond the socket and barrel, as represented, so that it may be grasped for the purpose of screwing it into oroutof the socket.

The breech-piece is furnished with holes h, Fig. 5, corresponding in number and position with the nipples f f j', and into these holes enter successivelya pin,t, (seen in Fig. 10,) passing through the socket B. This pin is attached to one end of avibratinglever, L, which has a spring, u, or its equivalent for holding the pin t into the holes of the breech-piece. This keeps the vbarrel in the proper position for firing the charge. When it is desired to turn the barrel so as to bring anothernipple, f, to the hammer Gr, a button, s, Fig. 1, on the rear end of the lever Ii is pressed against, and the pin t is thereby withdrawn from its holein the breech-piece. The barrel is then free to turn to the proper position.

The peeculiar arrangement of a long breechpiece and the necessity of having the nipples f f f entirely within the socket B to enable the barrel to revolve therein require the nipples to be placed in a position as nearly lengthwise of the gun as possible. This peculiarity pre'- vents the use of the ordinary gun-lock, the

hammer of which, turning up over the side of the gun, would necessarily strike the nipple in a direction too nearly at ri ghtan gles to the barrel. I have therefore constructed anew lock or substitute therefor to suit the peculiar construction of the other parts of the gun. The top strap or shank fm, of the socket B is provided with a longitudinal slot of proper size to receive the hammer G.

A mainspring, H, is secured to the under strap, n, and is provided with aslotoris splitfor the reception of trigger I. Across-bar or stud, p, passes from one strap to the other, and serves as a bearing for the trigger I, which is pivot'ed thereto at the point r, Fig. l. The hammer is .sunk deeply into the gun, and its motion is mostly forward and backward, rising and falling but very little. It has a double notch or projection, i, at its heel, into the extreme end of which the point 7' ot the trigger is pressed when the hammer is down upon the nipple, and thus prevents the raising of the hammer till the trigger is pushed forward by the thumb. When the hammer is raised the upper end ot` the notch or projection i is caught by the notch lc on the trigger and held cocked. The back of the hammer is made of an elliptical form, or a little nearer to its center ot' motion at the head than at the heel, so as to allow both the projections j and 7c to reach the double notch or projection i on the heel of said hammer. A coiled spring, l, attached at both ends, substantially as shown in Figs. l and 9, acts in` such a manner as to press both ends of the trigger against the hammer, and thereby answers the double purpose of locking the hammer up and down.

I am aware that gun and pistol barrels of three or more bores have before been used, but having either a mass ot' useless metal or an unnecessary space in the central portion betweenv the bores. Therefore I distinctly disclaim such an arrangement; but

What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

l. The employment of a revolving barrel formed from a single piece ot` metal with three bores of equal diameters, or four bores in opposite pairs ot' unequal diameters, when so arranged that the bores are located as near together as practicable to secure the proper strength of dividing metal, while the relative positions ofsaid bores are such that their outermost tangents shall revolve in a common circle around the central point between them' and be equidistant apart, the outer periphery of the barrel also so conforming to the bores as to dispense with unnecessary metal, for the purposefof securing the utmost compactness lightness, symmetry, and strength with a given capacity, and at the same time of retaining perfect convenience in respect to revolving and discharging, substantially as herein specified.

2. The employment (instead of separate breech-pins) of a single breech-piece provided y with branches or pins itting the several bores,

and secured therein by a right-und-left nut, for the purpose specified.

3. The socket B, in combination with the breech-piece C and coller E, substantially in the manner and for the purpose herein set forth. l

4. The peculiar construction, arrangement, and combination of the hammer, mainspring, and trigger, as adapted to the rest of the gun, and operating both to hold the hammercooked and down upon the nipple till set free by movingthe trigger, substantially as herein setforth.

JOSEPH ADAMS. Witnesses:

J. S. BROWN, G. W. ADAMS. 

